Hay River (Oct 02/06) - Oil, electricity and natural gas aren't the only choices when it comes to heating a Northern business or home.

Propane is also being used by residents in some communities throughout the Northwest Territories.

The 2004 Bureau of Statistics community survey reports 1,250 NWT households use propane as their primary heating source. "About four per cent used it as a secondary form of heat," said Angelo Cocco, territorial statistician. "Such as in gas fireplaces, for example."

The community survey didn't look at commercial use, so the 1,650 residential propane burners are just a portion of a sizeable market.

In Hay River, Stittco Utilities NWT provides 85 per cent of the town with propane, said Noel Demarcke, branch manager.

Stittco came to the community in 1987 and began with no client base at all, he said.

The downtown now uses an underground propane system which was constructed between then and 1990.

Stittco also trucks propane to the communities of Fort Providence, Enterprise and Fort Simpson.

"It's clean burning and there is a lot less maintenance," said Demarcke.

To keep up with demand, Stittco trucks in propane from Kemp River, Alta. on a daily basis and stores it in two massive 326,880- and 272,400-litre tanks, he said.

In the last number of years, he has seen more new home owners using propane in the community.

"People that now use (other fuels) for their houses in Hay River are very few," he said.

Another key player in the territorial market is Superior Propane, supplying more than 1,200 commercial and residential dwellings throughout the NWT, said Ken Yoder, a Superior market manager.

The company provides commercial and residential services from Fort Smith to Norman Wells. It also has a branch office in Inuvik that handles mostly commercial contracts, he said.

While supply and demand normally dictate the market, interest in propane has increased, especially on the commercial side, he said.

A number of commercial buildings around the NWT have made the switch to propane, he said.

Lower cost of equipment could be one factor behind the change, he said, adding the price of the fuel is another. "Typically, we're less on a cents per litre basis," he said.